Naming Conventions
This page is a list of guidelines on how to name pages. An article's name should be simple and precise. In general, the name should be what the majority of fans refer to the subject as, or else simply the name of the subject. In the case of multiple names, it is expected that redirect pages be created for the alternate names. The primary purpose of these policies is to simplify the process of choosing a name for a new article. When writing an article on any subject, the names, words, and phrases that you think should be linked to further information should be bracketed, so that they form links to new articles. 'General Conventions' * Follow Professional Standards of Capitalization. Always capitalize the first and the last word. Capitalize all nouns, pronouns, adjectives, verbs, adverbs, and subordinate conjunctions ("as", "because", "although"). Use lowercase on all articles, coordinate conjunctions ("and", "or", "nor"), and prepositions of less than five letters in length length (prepositions that are longer than five letters, such as "after", "among", or "between" are capitalized), when they are other than the first or last word. Use lowercase for the "to" in an infinitive. (For Example: Alchemist's Fire, not Alchemist's fire). * Remember That Links Are Case-Sensitive. Goblin Dog and Goblin dog link to different pages. This is an additional reason to make sure you are using the preferred capitalization. * Use Singular Nouns. Because the wiki engine will allow you to append suffixes after a link, it's best to use the singular form of all words, unless the subject is generally always in the plural form. (Examples: economics, goblin, but not goblins) * Use True Names. Article names should reflect the actual, full name of the subject. For example, Harulf Blackstone rather than The Dreadlight Mage. If a common or colloquial name for the subject exists, a redirect to the main article should be created (For example, redirecting The Dreadlight Mage to Harulf Blackstone, using the previous example.) * Be Precise. Ambiguously-named articles will likely create confusion for readers. * Use Spelled-Out Phrases, Not Acronyms. The only exceptions to this rule would be subjects where the acronym is more well-known than the original meaning, like NASA or RPG. * Don't Create Subpages. Although the wiki engine accepts the slash ("/") character in article titles, refrain from using it to suggest a hierarchy of articles. A name like Povero/Districts would be an example to avoid. (Note that this is not the case when creating new categories.) * Avoid Reserved Characters. There are a number of characters that are not accepted by the MediaWiki engine in article titles. The following characters should not be used: :: " # $ * + < > = @ [ ] \ ^ ` { } | ~ Specific conventions * Languages. Languages often share their names with the culture or species that it is native to. In these cases, suffix the language name with the word "language", but only when necessary. (Examples: Orc Language is correct, but so is Elven) * Race Names. Always use the name of a monstrous race in singular form (For example: Orc, not Orcs). * Titles. In most circumstances, it is not necessary to specify a titled person by their full name. Assume they hold no title when naming the article, such that if their title were removed or changed the article could remain the same. (Example: [[|Pilheard III]], not King Pilheard III) * Lists. For some time the convention for lists was to put "List of XXXs" in front of the article's name. This style is now deprecated and the subject's plural is used. (Example: Districts in Povero; old: List of Districts in Povero.) * Magic Items and Spells. Capitalize the names of all magic items and spells.